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Charitable Impact Blog

A Gift in Your Name

If you were ever a fan of the TV show Seinfeld, you may remember The Human Fund. It’s the charity George Costanza invented to avoid spending money on gifts for his coworkers.

George gave each of his colleagues a card stating that he had made a charitable gift in their name. Except that he actually hadn’t.

He thought he could get away with the lie until his boss embraced his so-called charitable spirit with a gift of $20,000 to The Human Fund. And, of course, that’s when George’s ruse was discovered.

The True Power in the Gift of Charity

While George and his colleagues grumbled at the idea of receiving a charitable donation in their name, the fact is, most Canadians are hoping to receive something meaningful this Christmas, and 48% have given a charitable gift in someone’s name.

But making charity meaningful to someone else can be tricky. Most people have their own preferred causes and favourite charities — and for them, the choice of where to give is personal. So giving a gift in someone else’s name may not, in fact, be perceived as meaningful. As George put it when he received his first charitable gift: “I gave him Yankee tickets and he gave me a piece of paper saying I’ve given your gift to someone else!”

The true power in the gift of charity lies in giving the recipient the ability to determine the circumstances around their gift. That means they should be able to take the time to choose the charities they’ll give to — and make the donation themselves, when they’re ready to do so.

Making Charitable Gifts Personal and Purposeful

At Chimp, we believe that charity is most powerful when it’s personal and purposeful. That’s why you can gift the gift of charity and the gift of choice all in one!

Simply send charitable dollars to your friends, family, colleagues — even your boss — from your Chimp account. Your recipients can then choose where they’d like to give your gift from among the 85,000 charities in Canada. Or they can pass it along to their friends to give. The choice is theirs.

With 59% of Canadians indicating that they’re likely to give a charitable gift this holiday season, that’s a lot of charitable power — in your hands, and in the hands of your recipients.

Want to give charitable gifts to your family, friends or coworkers this holiday season? Simply add money to your Chimp account (it’s free to set up if you don’t already have one) and follow the instructions. Need help? Give us a call at1-877-531-0580 or email hello@chimp.net.

A Gift in Your Name

Lisa Manfield is a digital writer with Chimp. She has been a writer and editor with BC Living, BC Business and Backbone magazines, and a content strategist for numerous small businesses and tech startups. She also teaches writing and editing for the web at Simon Fraser University.

CHIMP is an online giving platform for everyday philanthropists, whether new or seasoned, young or old, wealthy or not. With features like instantly organized tax receipts, automated donations, group giving, and privacy protection, your CHIMP Account lets you give now or save up to give later—whatever is most rewarding to you.